Learning Something New

In June, my Bev gave me a book to learn tatting which is a bit like crochet from what I can tell. I have been wait for the right time to delve into it. This week feels like the perfect opportunity. I have a bit over a month until I start my next semester, Noel is off to a conference for the week, and Chad and I are will be camping this weekend. That means that I will have less obligations this week. (Yes, I love having my daughter around. One less kids is obviously one less obligation.) 

I believe I have what I need to get started. Today, I made the first step towards my goal of learning this new skill. I ordered the shuttle. It should arrive Wednesday. I already have the crochet thread, so I won’t have to get that. I of course also have the book that includes some kind of DVD or CD with it. (Hopefully, it’s a DVD because I don’t have a computer that can play any kind of disk, but I do still have a few DVD players in the house.) 

My plan is to read through some of the starting instructions tomorrow. Then, I will get started as soon as the shuttle is delivered. Until then, I will continue working on my shawl at home and scarf in public. 

Pirate 5K

 Yesterday, Chad, Noel, and I ran a Pirate 5k in Thornton. (It may not have been the best planning since Noel and I had just come home from camping for 3 days.) My main goal was to do better than I did during the relay on July 4 and not end up in last place. Thankfully, I accomplished both goals. Noel accomplished even more: a 3rd place finish for her age group. 

Today, I looked at the finish line pictures they took at the race. Mine is awful. I wore some shorts that were an unfortunate color. (Don’t worry I cropped out my bottom half for the blog.) Chad’s wasn’t bad. It is obvious he put his all into it. Noel on the other had looks great. She is actually smiling crossing the finish line. 

It is races like these that make me want to keep going. I’m going to be doing another one through this company in 2 weeks that I won in a drawing at this one. I really like the way this company organizes it’s races. I’m am more than happy to continue finding them as I work on this journey. 

Girls Glamp

As I have mentioned before, I am a leader for the youth in my church. In this role, I serve young women 12 to 14 years old. I love this calling. Seeing the way these girls grow emotionally, spiritually, and emotionally is a reward in itself. (I also work with the girls up to 18 a bit, but not as much.) Since I get to do this, I also get to go to camp with the girls each summer that I can get that time off of work. 

This year, we went to YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch  and ended with a whitewater rafting trip in Idaho Springs. The camp had so many activities for the girls to do. They didn’t all do the same activities, but I think it is safe to say they all stayed busy the entire three days. They rode down a hill on inner tubes, swam, roller skated, played 4 square, roller skated, ant zip lining, did crafts, and more. At night, the girls slept in yurts, and the leaders slept in tents next to the yurts. The scenery was beautiful, and the staff was wonderful. I’m glad the girls got to do participate in this type of camp. 

Exhausted

Today has been an exhausting day. It all started with me having very little sleep last night. Then, I was reminded that Noel and I still needed a few things for camp, and we are leaving tomorrow. It was also necessary for both of us to get some laundry done. I also had to meet up with the other leaders at Costco to get the food for the next few days. 

I decided the easiest thing to do was get off at 1pm to start getting things done before I had to meet up e we it’s the others at 4pm. My boss was ok with it as long as I made up the hour later today. Thankfully, Chad installed the washer and dryer so we didn’t have to go to the laundromat. (It’s amazing how he sees the necessity when he is facing the possibility of having to go for the third time.). He also ran a load for me while I was running errands. In the end, I was not done running around until almost 9pm, and I still had to work for about an hour. It has been a long, tiring day. I hope I get enough sleep over the next few nights to be of use and have the patience I need to be around teenagers for three days.  

Priorities

This morning, I listened to M. Russell Ballard’s talk, Remember What Matters Most. It was great to have the reminder that I don’t need to be everything to everyone all at once. It kind of goes along with the theme of The Barbie Movie. (Yes, I’m talking about it again…a bit.) We are often told we need to do so many things that it is overwhelming. 

What roles do I play currently in my life? I am a mother, wife, employee, student, youth leader, sister, friend, daughter, and more. I have always and will always first and foremost be a mother. My husband knows this. I hope my kids know this. Being a wife is also very important to me. I have always known I was meant to be a wife. I hated being single after my divorce and was lucky enough to find the love of my life quickly. (Isn’t it amazing how the Lord puts the right people in our lives exactly when we need them?) Everything else has to be prioritized daily. Do I make mistakes? Yes. Sometimes the girls I teach text me with questions more than others (today was all about what to pack for camp). Sometimes my schoolwork has to take top priority. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I succeed. The failures almost always stick in my brain the best. 

Listening to this talk reminded me that putting my family and God first is what matters. As I follow the prompting of the Holy Ghost and do my best to fulfill my family responsibilities, everything else can fall into place. I know this is true. I know that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

What Does it Mean?

I am one of those people who watch and read the news on a regular basis. I want h more than one channel and/or read from multiple sources because it is near impossible to find a story that is not slanted in one way or another. Today, one story was the same no matter where I turned. The Barbie Movie had the biggest opening of any female directed movie raking in about $155 million in North America. Oppenheimer had a big opening as well grossing $80.5 million. 

There has been a concern about movies in theaters losing money since the pandemic. I think these numbers prove that the problem isn’t that we don’t want to see movies in the theaters. We want to see original movies. 

Yes, I loved Maverick, but didn’t like the attempts at recreating certain scenes. Other than that, I am tired of the recreation of or added sequels to movies from the past. Did we need another Indiana Jones? No. (My daughter said it sucked.) Another Mission Impossible? No. (They weren’t that good to begin with.) How about Teen Wolf? I never saw the first one or the TV series. Does Disney need to keep making “live action” remakes? Definitely not! Do we need another Marvel movie? Please, no! 

We don’t want the same old stuff we have been watching since childhood. Give us nostalgia with a new, creative approach. Give us something to help us escape. Give us something we will want to see over and over. (I would love to see The Barbie Movie again.) I know some like the movies based on true stories. Keep making those. We will watch them, too. 

(I know there is a writer and actor strike right now, but it won’t last forever.)

Barbie x2

I went to see the Barbie Movie yesterday with Noel and today with one of my best friends and a few other ladies. For the most part, I loved the movie. (If you have known me long enough, that shouldn’t be a surprise.) the only part I didn’t like was the end. Other than that, the music is great, the story line was fun, and there were a lot of funny parts. Of course it doesn’t hurt to have Ryan Gosling shirtless for most of the movie. 

I went both things in the same outfit. The first time, Noel dressed up, too. 

Tonight, we all wore something pink which of course meant I wore the same outfit. 

If I were to be invited to this movie again, I would go without a problem. As soon as it is on streaming services or a cable channel, I will watch it again. This may be my new favorite movie. 

Lost Dog/ Found Dog

 If there is a hole in the fence, Sophie will find it. She loves to roam around. Today, she found one of those holes and got out. It scared us for a while. 

After lunch, I let all of the dogs in the backyard and went back to work. When the big dogs wanted in, Sean let them in. Then, he went looking for Sophie. When he couldn’t find her, Noel joined him as I drove around the block slowly calling for her knowing she couldn’t get very far. At this point, she went to walk around the block in case I missed her as I freaked out thinking a hawk or other predatory bird got ahold of her. Then, Noel climbed the fence to see if she could find her that way, and she did. A confused little Sophie was right up against the fence likely trying to find a way back in where the people were calling for her. My solution was to have Noel jump the fence as I drove around to the back of the house to meet them. What I found as I passed the mailboxes was Sean walking towards Noel who was snuggling a small dog we thought may have been eaten. 

I was so relieved to be able to bring my doggie home. Sophie was just happy as could be having had a small adventure and getting the attention of being held and snuggled. 

The Anticipation

Noel and I have been talking about going to The Barbie Movie for quite a while. Tomorrow, we will be going to the 3:15 showing in a neighboring town. I am so excited! It better be as good as I am hoping. I’m going to see it the next night with a friend.

To prepare for the movie, we went to the thrift store to find the perfect Barbie outfits. I got a pink shirt, black skirt, and a floppy hat. (I already have heels to go with it.) Noel got shorts, a pink shirt, sparkly heels, and a hat. We tried on the outfits for Chad when we got home. She looks perfect (of course), and I am cute. These outfits will totally make the experience better! 

Pictures will be posted tomorrow. 

This is 45

I spent a few years dreading turning 43 and 44. I didn’t want to be the same age as or older than my mom, but it is  better than the alternative. This year I let myself enjoy my birthday. I get to live longer than my mom and enjoy things in this life she didn’t have to opportunity to experience. 

This year, we went on a camping trip at Jackson Lake which is only a lost 45 minutes up the highway from us. We got there Sunday night and came home Tuesday (my birthday) which was the perfect amount of time. Chad, Noel, and I spent a few hours in the lake before lunch on Monday while Sean found a hiding spot in the trees to read. After lunch, I played card games with Sean while Chad and Noel went back to the lake. Those of us in swimsuits ended up sunburned and dehydrated, but we were better enough by bedtime. After we were all settled for the night, some raccoons unzipped our car top bag and stole our remaining breakfast food (the rest of the food was put away in the car). This made our decision for us to leave first thing in the morning rather than hang out at the lake for the morning and get fast food on the way home. Overall, we all had fun including the one that would rather read than play in the water. 

That night, we met up with Eric and his girlfriend at Red Robin for dinner followed by games back at home. I love my kids and love having them around me the most. 

I don’t know everything that will happen at 45. I know I will graduate from college with my bachelor’s degree in Marriage and family studies. I am excited to find out what else is in store for me!

Finals

 I took my final for my advocacy class yesterday, and it sucked. First, I had to watch a really boring movie I had never heard of for two hours and try to not fall asleep. Then, I had to answer a bunch of essay questions about each ewe’s lesson and relate them to the movie. Other than the fact that an abolitionist was an advocate, I could not see how it related to advocating for children and families. All I could think of was that slaves were separated from their families against their will. I was able to identify each level of Bronfenbrenner’s theory, though. I guess that is a win. I honestly prefer essay questions with open book, but it was still hard. It probably would have been so bad though if I didn’t have to watch that boring movie first. 

Tea Party

 Today, many friend and I hosted a tea party at her house. It was a lot of fun to have an reason to be fancy and spend time with some wonderful women. 

I think my favorite part was the preparation. I’m loved shopping for the hat, gloves, dress, and shoes. My friend has beautiful tea cups and table cloths that added to the excitement. She also has a beautiful entertaining area in her backyard that made the perfect setting. 

This was my first real tea party experience. I hope to be able to do it again in the future. Maybe, I can go to the Brown Palace with a few friends in the not so distant future. 

Cousin Reunion Planning

I have been missing South Haven, MI for a while. I have so many good memories of visiting there. The best memories include my cousins. The last two times I near them there were for my grandparents’ funerals. I want to see them again with good memories attached. This desire lead me to one conclusion; I need to organize a Mitchell Cousin Reunion. 

A few weeks ago, I made the first big step to make this happen. I made a Facebook group message to hater interest for a reunion in South Haven next summer for our grandparents’ anniversary. So far, everyone is interested and looking into making room in their schedules for the days I chose. 

Now, I am in planning mode. I am going to check out a couple of venues my dad suggested including the Methodist church that we had a few family functions when we were growing up. If there is a way to rent or reserve it, I am hoping to do a big dinner the night of the anniversary. If not, I will check out a state park by the beach my dad told me about. For the other meals, I am thinking everyone will be in charge of their own breakfast. The other three meals can be assigned to family groups. For example, Aunt Mickey’s kids can work on the first lunch, Uncle Bill’s kids can do the other lunch. and my sister and I can do the last dinner. Other than that, I know we need at least one day at the beach. The other day, I am going to do a bit of research on other activities available in the area. 

I am so excited for this reunion! Hopefully, planning it while finishing my last year of school doesn’t kill me. 

My Sister

 

Marleah, her kids, and our dad

My sister and I have lived through some tough things together. Through it all we have remained close. She moved out of state about 4 years ago, but we do our best to talk at least once a week. Lately, we have called each other almost everyday. When school starts back up, it will be harder to talk to each other again (she’s a bus driver). I’m kind of dreading that, but I’m going to enjoy our conversations until then. I wish she still lived close enough for me to see her more often. 

Making a List

I have five assignments due on Saturday, and one or two small assignments due next Wednesday. Then, I have seven weeks until I start my next semester. I know I have to keep myself busy during that time, so I’m making a list of the things I want to do. I’m not sure how much I will get done, but I’m excited to find out. 

I would like to:

• Work on learning to play more on my ukulele 
• Take a QPR course (suicide awareness)
• Finish or take out unfinished knitting and crochet projects 
• Work on the front yard 
• Start a t-shirt quilt to clear out room in my drawer 
• Start the process to find an internship 
• Learn tatting

Some of these things are more important than others, so I will have to prioritize them. However, the ukulele will be at the top of the list no matter what. I have had mine for a few years and don’t know how to play more than one or two songs. I have wanted a musical talent for most of my life. Supposedly, this is one of the easiest instruments to learn. 

Running with Her

There is nothing like running with my daughter to show me how much work I still have ahead of me. Noel went running with me today. She was nervous that she wouldn’t be able to keep up, but she had to slow down more than once for me to catch up. I know I am getting better, but I have worked hard to get where I am. She naturally is better than me without even trying. I’m sure it is mostly because she is so much younger and slimmer than me. It actually makes me proud. I hope she loves it and keeps it up for a long time. I like sharing stuff I like with her. 

Not Broken

I took my daughter to have her thumb x-rayed this afternoon after I got off work. (She was out with friends most of the day.) It was easy to find the facility right off of the hospital, and we were checked in right away. They weren’t busy, so she was taken back after waiting only a few minutes. After just a few images were taken, she was done and told we should be contacted in 2 to 3 days. In less than an hour I received a call from the doctor’s office telling me it was not broken and we should just continue to treat the pain as we have been until it feels better. Thank goodness! She will most likely lose the nail, but it will grow back. 

The Thumb

Friday, Noel shut her thumb in a car door. He dad offered to take her to the ER, but she refused (from what she told me). She told me she iced it for a long time that night after her dad helped her wash it. Then, she texted me and let me know she was hurt and asked me if I could take her to the doctor on Monday if it was not better (she hates hospitals). I told her that if she thought it was broken she should let her dad take her in that night. She didn’t agree. 

Yesterday, Noel told me that it was getting better but she thought she may be losing the nail. She FaceTimed me and showed me the bruises and swelling. Once again, I told her she needed to let her dad take her to have it x-rayed. She said it wasn’t that bad. 

When I picked her up today, she told me it was doing a lot better and she was sure she didn’t break it. Then, when I wok up from my nap, she told me it was hurting really bad and agreed to let me take her to Urgent Care, not the ER.  

It was confirmed that she has a hematoma under her mail and will lose at least part of it. They didn’t have an x-ray tech in, so we will have to go to the imaging center tomorrow to have it checked. Then, they will call and let us know the next moves. For now, it is in a brace to stabilize. Hopefully, it isn’t broken. 

The Necklace

 

When Noel and I went to Utah for a friend’s wedding last month, I forgot to bring jewelry. Lucky, my stepmom has a milk crate full of inexpensive jewelry. Most of it is really not my style, but I found this one necklace that I fell in love with right away. I was told I could borrow it for the wedding and church the next day. 

While at the wedding reception, Noel commented the necklace. I told her how much I loved it and said I hoped Bev would give it to me. Noel laughed and said she probably would. 

When we got back to the house, Bev said it looked really nice on me and asked if I would like to keep it. I was so excited! It is a piece of jewelry that I will be able to wear with almost all of my dresses. I feel so special to be gifted something that I love so much. 

The Hat Saga

 My friend and I are planning a tea party at her house a week from Saturday. We started planning it about a month ago on a rainy afternoon as we dreamed of nicer weather. We decided we wanted it to be a bit fancy and include hats and jewelry. I ordered a hat and glove set last week when Chad got paid. My plan at the time was to order two hats; one hat was the color I wanted, and the other had the gloves and costume jewelry I wanted. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be delivered until after the party. I found another set that I likes even more that was supposed to be delivered in two days, so I ordered it. Then, the problems began. 

The day the set was to be delivered, Amazon sent a notification that it needed to be relabeled. I was told I needed to choose a locker location for it to be delivered, and I chose a gas station down the highway a bit. Then, I got another notification of an address change with another delay on the package. I was starting to get worried and decided that I could just make one if it wasn’t delivered. I told my friend my issues and encouraged her to order hers as soon as possible just in case. Then, a few minutes after I got home from our rainy walk, it was delivered. 

Im in love with this hat! Im going to have to find another reason to wear it. Maybe I’ll be fancy for Halloween. 

Relay Run

Yesterday, Chad and I got up bright and early to run a relay race a friend organized. There were three teams of four, and we each ran 4.1 to 4.9 miles (in theory) along a bike trail going from Boulder to Thornton. Chad and I are not sting runners, but that was known before we started. The goal was for all of us to end up at the house where they were serving breakfast around the same time. This would have worked great if some of us hadn’t gotten lost. 

The runners in the first wave had the easiest path to follow. From my understanding, there weren’t really any confusing intersections. The problem they had was that it was basically all uphill with a bit of a downhill at the end. Wavetwo apparently got confusing when going through Louisville. One runner somehow ended up on a parade route. Chad was able to stay on the planned path, but he said there was a lot of uphill as well even though the map said it was “basically flat.” I was in the third wave which was supposed to be an easy one to follow. It mostly went along the highway then across a bridge over the highway to a park behind a hotel. I got lost just after the hotel exhausted, dehydrated, and knowing it was taking too long. I called Chad for help, explained where I was, and stayed put until they could pick me up (our last runner already took off to try to avoid the heat). Apparently, the other runners in my wave had each come from different directions, so no one was surprised one of us got completely lost. It turned out I was only about a quarter mile away from the end point. The last wave had a detour that made two runner get lost and someone had to go find them. 

Overall, I had a lot of fun. If they do this again next year, I hope they invite us again. I know they put a lot of work into it, and they didn’t even charge a fee. I would have totally been willing to at least pay for the food. I also wouldn’t have blamed them if they wanted something for all of the work they put into planning the route even though it got confusing. I wouldn’t even mind running the same route again now that I know a bit more about where I would be going. 

July 4th

 

A few weeks ago, Noel and I bought shirts (not matching) for the 4th of July at the thrift store with the hopes of wearing them for fireworks. Well, she ended up going out with a friend wearing a different shirt, and the fireworks were canceled because of the weather. I ended up sitting at home watching fireworks on tv with Chad wearing the sweatshirt I bought just for tonight. I guess I will just have to be one of those people that wears this kind of thing year round. Oh, well. Happy Independence Day!

Decision Made

I have decided that I am going to work on the mystery knit along. I really want to do a triangular shawl and would love to do something with lace again. I was considering using up the sparkly yarn left over from my niece's purse, but I can't stop thinking about a yarn that Noel didn't want for her hat that I loved at Hobby Lobby. I'm going to go to Hobby Lobby this week to pick it up. The yarn is so pretty. I really hope they still sell it. 

I am also going to start one of the hats. I bought a kit in the winter for a hat that I liked that I have not started yet because I couldn't find my circular needles. I have since bought new circular needles, so I can get started on it. I will probably put it on hold when I am able to start the shawl. 

Narrowing my Options

Now that the purse is done. I need to decide what to make next. Have have yarn and patterns for at least 3 more hats. My original plan was to get these started next, but I am not sure I want to make a hat right now even though they are all different yarns and patterns. The other project on my list is a mystery knit along that I signed up for a few months ago and started getting clues for last week. (Clues are sections of the pattern that are released on a weekly basis. This one is in three increments.) It is a shawl that I may for may not have the yarn for in my stash. 

I am leaning towards the shawl. It has been quite a while since I made one, and I am kind of itching to do something different for a little while. I can always go back to the hats later. The problem is I need to decide on the yarn and cant buy more yarn until Monday if I’m not happy with what I have. 

I know this isn’t the hardest decision ever made, but it is where I am right now. Make the hat that I have everything picked out for, it make the mystery shawl that I will probably need to buy yarn to make. I may have to do both.